We’re Going to Animate the Wingfeather Saga!

This news has been a long time coming, dear readers, hence the many, many exclamation points which will most surely pepper this post. (!) My friend Chris Wall (VeggieTales, 3-2-1 Penguins), and I formed Shining Isle Productions (see what we did there?) in order to tell the story of the Wingfeather Saga in a multi-season animated series. We want to bring the Igiby children all the way from book one to book four on the screen, so you and your family (and hopefully a lot of other folks) can experience this story in a whole new way. (!!)

So here’s the fun part. Well, one of the fun parts. If we can raise enough funds, we’re going to publish Wingfeather Tales, a brand new collection of short stories from the world of Aerwiar. But that’s not all. I’ve invited a bunch of author friends to write the stories, and a bunch of illustrator friends to illuminate them. If we can reach enough stretch goals, we’ll get Wingfeather tales from N.D. Wilson (100 Cupboards), Douglas McKelvey (The Angel Knew Papa and the Dog), A. S. Peterson (Fiddler’s Gun), Jennifer Trafton (The Rise and Fall of Mt. Majestic), and Jonathan Rogers (The Wilderking Trilogy). And check this out! We’ll get illustrations from John Hendrix (Miracle Man), Joe Sutphin (The Warden and the Wolf King), Justin Gerard (The Monster in the Hollows), Aedan Peterson (Pembrick’s Creaturepedia), and Doug TenNapel (Ghostopolis, Earthworm Jim). I’m going to supervise and edit the book, and we’re going to fling open the doors to Aerwiar again so we can find out what else has been going on in Glipwood and the Green Hollows and Dugtown. But we’re going to need your help to make this happen.

There’s SO much to tell you about, and the best way for you to discover it will be to click this link and be whooshed to the Kickstarter page. You can read about all the cool rewards for our backers (stickers, posters, t-shirts, original concept art, patches, character cards!), and find out about our master plan to take over at least a tiny part of the world.

THANK YOU for your enormous support for these books (and hopefully the film). Team Peterson here at the Warren give you thanks and wish you peace.

I know the story should still be excellent, but I’m concerned for the quality of the animation based on the trailer and stuff. The LOTR animatey thing in the 70’s was really terrible, maybe this should wait until it can really fly in time? The most recent LOTR and Narnia movies are amazing, but of course, done a looooooong time after the books were published.
I’m sorry for weariness, I really love the idea of a movie and love all your books, just wasn’t expecting this type of animation. Maybe it could be more realistic looking? I guess that’s what really bugging me, that the characters look so corny to what the books (or my brain :’D ) sees them as, or what most animated movie people look like. 🙂 The WingFeather saga is the one of three series that ALL my really spaced out and bookaholic-y family loves, but I don’t believe we can all enjoy this kind of animation.
Thanks so much for everything and looking forward to seeing it anyhow.

Thanks for your comments–just a reminder, the whole reason we’re raising money for this thing is to develop the character design, the animation style, and the general feel of it. Without any money we’ve had to scrape together whatever we could for the concept art. None of what you see is what will be final. Hope this helps!

“Anime” style would be very captivating to best represent these stories… And is a much needed form of art in the Christian world of books and animation.
There are lots of tweens and teens that are attracted to that style of animation, but there are no options for them outside of the secular ones.

I’m so excited, and have imagined what this would be like as a film (live-action, actually). 🙂 So when I saw that it was being planned I was very happy. But I always felt the characters were so poignant and full, that it’s odd to see them (the children) depicted in kind of a goofy way – especially Kalmar. It’s not at all the way they’re drawn in the books. Everything else looks and sounds great, but the kids seem so visually comical. I think children can love it, even with characters that are drawn a little more realistically, and beautifully (as the dragons seem to be). Children can be honored and entrusted with rich beauty, as evidenced in these stories themselves! Thank you for allowing us the platform to even voice our opinion about these things. I hope you see these “concerns” as an expression of great love for the books! It has been decades since a story has captured me like THE WINGFEATHER SAGA. Thank you!

Thanks for your comments–just a reminder, the whole reason we’re raising money for this thing is to develop the character design, the animation style, and the general feel of it. Without any money we’ve had to scrape together whatever we could for the concept art. None of what you see is what will be final. Hope this helps!

For right now, the way to get your own copy is to contribute to the Kickstarter. Song Maiden (for streaming), or Wingfeather Tales (for download), or The Ancient Stone (for DVD). (Anything above The Ancient Stone also gets the DVD.) Eventually, the short will be available for purchase. Let me know if that answers your question.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I AM SO PUMPED
But I really hope the style will be less cartoony than in the concept art. I understand that realistic animation is extremely difficult, but I’ve always pictured Aerwiar in a real and vivid way, and it would be weird and offsetting for me if the animations weren’t more realistic, like Dreamworks.
Anyway, this is amazing and God bless this project!!

Thanks for your comments–just a reminder, the whole reason we’re raising money for this thing is to develop the character design, the animation style, and the general feel of it. Without any money we’ve had to scrape together whatever we could for the concept art. None of what you see is what will be final. Hope this helps!

OH MY GOODNESS
I was babysitting when i read this. Here is the story. I read it. I screamed. I almost threw up. The kids who I was
watching stared at me like snakes were coming out of my nose.
Every bit of this is news is the most thrilling I have heard in weeks!
I am going to my bed room so I can do a little happy dance.